By Indie Nation

March 3, 2015March 3, 2015

Les Hivernales, Rock’N’Beat Festival, Nyon, 26.02-01.03.2015

I had never really been to Nyon except for Paléo and Caribana Festival, which are in the Nyon region but not at all in the city. The concerts held by Les Hivernales allowed me to take a stroll in the city and discover some great spots with a brilliant soundtrack to them.

Day 1, Thursday 26 February

The Rambling Wheels, La Parenthèse, 9:15pm-10:35pm

La Parenthèse is a cool underground venue, it looks like a tunnel and is covered in concerts’ posters, dedications and autographs made by artists who played there.

The Rambling Wheels, a Swiss rock band from Neuchâtel, start off with some really catchy guitar riffs getting the audience’ attention straight away. The audience ask them to play “Marylou”, their new single, which they do eventually play in all its beauty. At a certain point blood starts cooling down the singer’s eyebrow, he doesn’t notice anything until his band mate, at the end of the song, tells him he is bleeding. He then jokes and says he wanted to have the make up like in David Bowie’s “Ziggy Stardust”. Towards the end of the concert the audience joins in singing along with all the energy left. This concert was supposed to be acoustic but in the end, as the band stated at the beginning of the concert, it turned out to be more electric and rock! But they played one song which was acoustic and had choruses in it. A great and fun gig!Day 2, Friday 27.02.2015Dear Deër, 9:30pm-10:30pm, Le Saint-Jean

Le St. Jean is a really cozy bar, quite an elegant venue where you can enjoy nice wines.

Dear Deër, as the singer explains throughout the gig is not the name of the band but a statue of a deer which accompanies them everywhere. Their music therefore is the spirit of the forest (“l’esprit de la forête”). Three band members, a girl on the piano, another on the violin, and in turns they both play the xylophone. The singer has a great voice, the melodies are truly enchanting and you can see why they call it the spirit of the forest, it’s as if you can imagine the forest that surrounds you only by listening to their music.Transistor Girl, Quai 23, 10:30pm-11:30pm

Quai 23 is a lively restaurant where the stage finds its place in the corner next to the tables.

Transistor Girl is a duo of acoustic guitars, accompanied here by the drums as well, they delight the public with their dreamy soft music. The singer’s voice sounds really calm, creating a nice and chilling atmosphere in between the bursting of the restaurant. Their music is quiet at times and louder at others. Towards the end the songs become livelier, gaining a folky touch.Talisco, Usine à gaz, 11:15pm-00:15am

Usine à Gaz is, along with the Salle communale, one of the biggest venues in Nyon and the part of Les Hivernales in which you have to get your pretty ticket to go in.

I just caught the end of the concert and quite regret I didn’t see the entire set. Talisco were surprisingly much more rock than I actually expected! Heavy riffs and powerful drums beats reminding the rambling ones of Arctic Monkeys‘ “Brianstorm”! I’ll definitely have to catch them somewhere else to see a full set!Day 3, Saturday 28.02.2015

The Two, Le Saint-Jean, 9:30pm-11pm

The Two, as their name suggests, are two musicians: a Swiss guy and a Mauritian guy, and the combination is quite explosive! The Mauritian guy is also the singer and has an incredible voice which gives you goosebumps. The way these two guys play the guitar is remarkable and takes you in an unforgettable journey through blues and rock n’ roll sounds. They tell the audience about their recent travel and concert experience in the States, where they found out that what they make is not American blues. They play “On and on” where the intertwining of their acoustic guitars leaves you breathless. They also play “Promise” a song the Mauritian guy wrote for his father who was always promising to his wife that he’d come home early but never actually did. Some of the songs are sung in mauritian and as the singer gets into it, the sounds of it become pretty wild and beautiful. They play many encores as the public is so into them, singing along and clapping to the songs, including a blues medley with “When The Saints Go Marching In”.

The Family Rain, Usine à Gaz, 11:15pm-00:15am

The Family Rain is truly a family, made of three brothers William, Ollie and Timothy Walter, two of which are twins. And there’s one more thing, it’s a family that rocks! Their sound is incredibly captivating, their energy contagious and they’ve got everything to hypnotize the audience. They are on tour to present their first album Under The Vulcano (2014) an explosive mix of guitar, bass, drums and witty lyrics on top, like the song “Binocular” which you won’t be able to get out of your mind very easily. The singer’s voice seems to come out of the seventies, the band’s energy and sound too! Before playing the last song the singer presents his brothers and says: “We’ve been The Family Rain we will leave you in Peace!” hinting at the name of the next band playing!

Peace, Usine à Gaz, 1am:2am

Peace are four British lads who have a cool indie-rock sound and tunes which stick in your head like glue, the single “Money” taken from their last album Happy People (2015) is an example. The indie atmosphere is created right from the start with the banging tune “I’m A Girl” where the electric guitars get really nasty and distorted. On stage they let out their energy in intense instrumental bits, which lead them to wave their heads and hair in the air. The electric guitars intertwined with the bass and drums create very danceable tunes. On top of it some of the songs seem to have a kind of electronic beat in the background. The new songs sound great live! As they leave the stage, the audience is waiting for an encore which doesn’t come, perhaps a bit bitter but well, time was up.